Public Sector · Glossary
Military expenditure (% of GDP)
MS.MIL.XPND.GD.ZS
Definition
Military expenditure by country as percentage of gross domestic product
Methodology for Public Sector indicators
Public sector indicators (government revenue, expenditure, debt) are compiled from IMF Government Finance Statistics and national budget reporting. Definitions of "general government" versus "central government" vary, so cross-country comparison requires checking the institutional coverage. Debt-to-GDP ratios are most useful in trend form rather than point-in-time comparison.
How to interpret
- Always check the unit and reporting year before comparing values across countries.
- NULL or "Not available" means the World Bank did not publish a value — we never estimate.
- Year-over-year changes can be driven by methodology updates, not just real economic shifts.